Retail Sales Keep Climbing
U.S. retail and food services sales in June 2009 continued the positive trend begun in May by rising 0.6%. Total June sales were $342.1 billion, compared to $340 billion in May.
According to advance estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, total sales for the April through June 2009 period were down 9.6% from the same period in 2008. June 2009 sales were 9% lower than in June 2008. All figures are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.
Of the 13 separate primary retail and food service sectors tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, seven reported increased sales in June 2009 and six reported decreased sales. The primary sectors with the highest increases were gasoline stations, with 5%, and motor vehicle and parts retailers, with 2.3%. The primary sectors with the largest decreases were food services and drinking places and building material, garden equipment and supplies dealers, which both reported a 0.9% drop.
Compared with June 2008, gasoline station sales were down 31.6% and motor vehicle and parts dealer sales were down 14.1%.
Recent consumer financial news has been mixed. The U.S. trade deficit shrank 9.7% in May 2009. Consumer credit decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.5% in May 2009, while borrowing figures for April 2009 show that U.S. consumers decreased borrowing by 16%.
In addition, during May 2009, U.S. consumers saved $768.8 billion, a 26.3% increase from the $608.5 billion saved in April. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable income was 6.9% in May, compared with 5.6% in April. Similar jumps in total personal saving figures and percentages occurred between March and April 2009. Consumers’ personal consumption expenditures, which essentially reflect consumer spending, increased 0.3% in May.
Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate rose from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June. In addition, the Consumer Confidence Index fell from 54.8 in May to 49.3 in June. In another negative economic sign, the RPI (Restaurant Performance Index) slid from 98.6 in April 2009 to 98.3 in May 2009, registering its first decline since December 2008.